currently // october 2015

10/27/2015

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a currently post! Training this past year didn’t leave a lot of free time to write, and to be honest, staring at my laptop after doing so at work for 8+ hours a day is the last thing I wanna do at night – even now during the off-season. That said, I miss that quiet time to create and reflect (and connect with you!), so am committed to making a bit more time in my schedule to blog.

So, here’s what’s been up!

Reading

I’ve been bouncing all over the place when it comes to reading. One day it’s Rising Strong by Brené Brown and the next it’s Big Magic by Liz Gilbert. I’m about 50 pages into both, but given my scatterbrained-ness, I couldn’t tell you much about either. Not a good way to actually understand and absorb each book’s juiciness, so I’m putting down one to really focus on the other. Back to single-tasking, folks!

Signed up for

Speaking of… I’m SO excited for Brené’s COURAGEworks Living Brave Semester! Finding and registering for this course couldn’t have come at a better time, as the past few weeks have been tough… filled with far too much commute + screen time, i.e. not living my best life. I also feel like I haven’t tapped certain parts of my brain in awhile… I’m ready to learn again (and be vulnerable in the process)!

Ready for

Training to start! Not kidding, I’ve been counting down the days until a schedule shows up in TrainingPeaks – on November 1! The offseason’s been great and filled with lots of downtime (probably more than any other offseason), but I’m feeling incredibly lazy and miss having some day-to-day structure. And, running… man, I miss running. Really big goals this next year, and I cannot wait to get started working toward them…!

Loving

Spending time with my niece. She is the BEST! I know everyone says this about their kid (or niece or nephew), but seriously… Finley’s whip smart! My sis and I both marvel at how quickly she catches on and how she connects the dots to continue conversations and make insights I’m not so sure other 2.5-year-olds make. Love her (and her silly personality) to pieces! Auntiehood is pretty rad.

Spectating

Cyclocross. It’s all the rage everywhere, so Nick and I hit up a local race last weekend at Green Acres CX. The energy! The community! Both are fantastic! We spent the entire day there – with a 30-mile ride around Stillwater in the middle – and then Nick decided to race CX for the first time. Because he’s crazy like that (just one of the reasons I ♥ him!). A friend of ours loaned him a bike, and he was off. He’s hooked (no surprise there!) and raced again this past weekend at Velo CX, taking seventh in Cat 4-5!

Also worth noting at CX were all the young girls racing! So, so awesome to see them totally rocking it. Because strong girls = strong world ♥

Quote of the week

If I’ve learned anything [exploring], true real inspiration and growth only comes from adversity and from challenge. From stepping away from what’s comfortable and familiar and stepping out into the unknown. We could all benefit from getting outside the house more often. -Ben Saunders, polar explorer

You Might Also Like

13 Comments

Isn’t being an auntie the best?!?!?! I love all 5 of my nieces…unfortunately they don’t live close enough for me to see them more regularly. I too am itching to get back to serious training, although I have put structure into our “off season” to give me some peace of mind so I don’t go completely crazy :) Cyclocross is da bomb!! I am so sad that I’ve missed racing this year (thanks to bursitis of the knee that has me on a no running plan for now). You should DEFINITELY try it!! You will be hooked for sure!!

Sounds like you are really enjoying the off-season, as you should! I love the mental break, although I know that some people are not a fan of the offseason. And it’s great that you are amped to start training – November 1st is right around the corner. It looks (from the photos) as though you’ve had a nice fall, so enjoy that weather.

I’m actually surprised that you haven’t tried cyclocross yet!! Its huge here too especially because of the rain and mud!!! :) Finley is super cute!!! What a great smile she has!! November will be here before you know it!!!!

Hope the first day of training went well! Can’t wait to follow your journey to Kona!
I’ve never heard of Cyclocross (dare I say) but it looks like fun!
How is Big Magic??? I’ve read both of her other two books and debated picking this one up too.

Hope your first days back to training have been great! I know what you mean about not wanting to have any more screen time after sitting at the computer all day at work — that’s totally where I have been at this year. Hopefully I’ll get a little more on top of it because I love using it as a way to connect with other people! Glad to hear you’ve had a nice off season too. You need that rest time to get yourself more amped about starting back up again! That class by Brene Brown sounds super interesting! Have you already read the books? I’ve read Daring Greatly, but not Rising Strong. Would love to know what you think.

It sounds like life is treating you well and you enjoyed the off-season. Nov 1 is officially here, so I hope you are amped up about having a schedule appear in TrainingPeaks. I am still not following a schedule, but look forward to it more and more. Cyclocross is really popular here in Bend. I just went down this past weekend and spectated at our Halloween CX… everyone wore costumes while riding and it was pretty epic! You should definitely give it a try one of these days!